×
  • remind me tomorrow
  • remind me next week
  • never remind me
Subscribe to the ANN Newsletter • Wake up every Sunday to a curated list of ANN's most interesting posts of the week. read more

Forum - View topic
Super Natural Characters and Last Names




Anime News Network Forum Index -> General -> Anime
View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
silver_omicron



Joined: 04 Mar 2005
Posts: 132
PostPosted: Wed Sep 27, 2006 5:50 pm Reply with quote
Anyone find it funny how many animes enjoy giving enigmatic or ethereal characters last names despite the fact the last thing they would have is a memorable (or existant) family? This particularly came to mind as I was reading an entry about Bleach where Rukia has a last name.

Just something half funny, half strange.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
abunai
Old Regular


Joined: 05 Mar 2004
Posts: 5463
Location: 露命
PostPosted: Wed Sep 27, 2006 8:24 pm Reply with quote
I have to say that your post doesn't make a lot of sense. Since the storyline of Bleach gives a detailed explanation of the circumstances surrounding the "clans" and "families" among the spirits of the dead, and the Shinigami aristocracy, it is quite reasonable for Kuchiki Rukia to have a family name. Especially since that situation is an important plot point.

- abunai
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website My Anime My Manga
silver_omicron



Joined: 04 Mar 2005
Posts: 132
PostPosted: Wed Sep 27, 2006 8:31 pm Reply with quote
Interesting, I hadn't known this (I only am on the third episode).
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
selenta
Subscriber



Joined: 19 Apr 2006
Posts: 1774
Location: Seattle, WA
PostPosted: Wed Sep 27, 2006 9:09 pm Reply with quote
... Yeah.... I'm with abunai, that was a pretty naive post. You're on the third episode of the series, that's a little early to make judgments of any kind about the show considering how long it is; particularly on such normally benign things as having a full name. I'd personally find it far wierder if the creater didn't even give one of their main characters a name.

Besides, unlike in English where it is customary to call both friends and strangers by their first name, in Japanese, everyone calls everyone else by their family name unless they are good friends. However, just as it is common in English to never even hear the last name of a character, it is relatively common to never hear the last name of a Japanese character. However, to not ever hear the family name of an anime character would be quite strange indeed; it would normally only make sense if the character had been a childhood friend of the hero and thus was on a last name basis.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website My Anime My Manga
Malintex Terek
Guest




PostPosted: Thu Sep 28, 2006 12:28 am Reply with quote
I don't fully understand. Do you mean that characters have puns with their names related to an aspect of their person, like, say, Weevil Underwood the Bug Duelist from Yu-Gi-Oh? There's nothing exceptional about authors doing such, especially learned ones; take J.K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series. Her character, "Lord Voldemort", means something along the rough lines of "flight from death", which the eponymous Voldemort has done.
Back to top
Shiroi Hane
Encyclopedia Editor


Joined: 25 Oct 2003
Posts: 7585
Location: Wales
PostPosted: Thu Sep 28, 2006 7:31 pm Reply with quote
OT, but names n HP can be dead giveaways; I figured out the identities of Lupin and Skeeter right away by their names.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Visit poster's website AIM Address Yahoo Messenger MSN Messenger ICQ Number My Anime My Manga
silver_omicron



Joined: 04 Mar 2005
Posts: 132
PostPosted: Fri Sep 29, 2006 9:29 pm Reply with quote
selenta wrote:
... Yeah.... I'm with abunai, that was a pretty naive post. You're on the third episode of the series, that's a little early to make judgments of any kind about the show considering how long it is; particularly on such normally benign things as having a full name. I'd personally find it far wierder if the creater didn't even give one of their main characters a name.

Besides, unlike in English where it is customary to call both friends and strangers by their first name, in Japanese, everyone calls everyone else by their family name unless they are good friends. However, just as it is common in English to never even hear the last name of a character, it is relatively common to never hear the last name of a Japanese character. However, to not ever hear the family name of an anime character would be quite strange indeed; it would normally only make sense if the character had been a childhood friend of the hero and thus was on a last name basis.


...

Bleach was my example, not the soul reason for my post.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Display posts from previous:   
Reply to topic    Anime News Network Forum Index -> General -> Anime All times are GMT - 5 Hours
Page 1 of 1

 


Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group